OK - I'm 9 months pregnant, just found out my cat is days away from giving birth too!!

[auntyspan]

Hi there.

I have a 7 year old cat who we never have neutered (long story). She has never had kittens and we were told a couple of years ago that she was infertile.

I noticed last week she was eating a lot and was getting fat. Her teets were also sticking out, so I thought, she's pregnant. DH took her to the vet this afternoon and she is, indeed, very pregnant and the vet said she may be days away from giving birth. I am due to have an elective c-section on Tuesday next week

My questions are many - but basically we want to encourage her to go into the study and have her kittens there. It's a nice warm room, not used much and will be out of the way of DD1 (3) and me and the baby / visitors etc.

Is there a way of encouraging her to go in there? Do I leave a box out for her or something? What about a litter tray?!

ARGGGH!!!!!

she will go where she wants to, moine had hers outside, she will bring the kittens in to a place she feels safe. in that room you will need a high sided box and a litter tray

mother will train the kittens anyway, kitties are no hassle at all

you won't even know they're there for the first 4 weeks or so so plenty of time to get used to newborn lo and recover from the cs before they start to make their presense felt

our current cat very conveniently had her kittens in the basket she slept in (possibly because when she moved herself in with her previous litter that's where i put the lot of them so it had already been a nest). i then brought down an old travelcot and put the whole basket in it so that they'd be safe from my older 2 kids.

unfortunately they do tend to pick whatever spot takes their fancy though... often cupboards or beds, some will prefer to have them outside the house and then there's the crazy ones like a cat i had years ago who gave birth on the couch sitting next to me while i was feeding 4 week old dd with a huge tom cat also sat up on the couch watching in bemusement

you can make her a a nest and hope she uses it, something warm and soft, not necessarily as big as you'd imagine... they seem to prefer a slightly tight fit than something that's too roomy. with the cat who gave birth on the couch i moved her and the kitten to a box in the corner and she accepted the move happily enough so if the cat trusts you there should be no problem moving the kittens to the study even if she has them elsewhere.

honestly, kittens are no bother.... was heavily pregnant when mine had her last lot and i didn't have to do anything for them really... just take care of momma cat like you usually would but feed her a lot more, she'll teach the kittens everything they need to know... she cleans their bums for the first 4/5 weeks and after that as long as they've seen her using the tray they'll automatically do the same, when they're ready for solids they'll start to nibble at her food of their own accord.

good luck with your baby and with the kittens

How Are Things Going? Hope all is well with your new baby and the kittens X